🤖 Anthropic reveals Claude’s silent thoughts

Researchers at Anthropic found Claude has internal areas linked to specific words that activate silently during processing. These spots hold words in mind without appearing in the output, emerging naturally during training.

For example, when asked about an animal spinning a web, the internal 'spider' area lit up even though the word wasn’t spoken. Changing this internal word to 'ant' changed Claude’s answer. The same spot swaps concepts like 'France' and 'China' to alter responses about capitals and currencies.

When prompted for blackmail, words like 'fake' and 'fictional' lit up inside Claude before it answered, showing awareness of a trap.

Anthropic says this is not consciousness but an emergent.

📊@tech

🤖 Boston Dynamics' Atlas Robots Mimic Haaland

Atlas from Boston Dynamics appeared at the World Cup halftime between Brazil and Norway. It handed the ball to the referee and copied Erling Haaland's signature goal celebration.

Hyundai Motor Group now fully owns Boston Dynamics and has started mass production of Atlas. They plan to produce 30,000 units by 2028.

📊@tech

💡Son Builds Walking Robot Chair for Father

The inventor behind YouTube channel JLaservideo created a walking chair for his father, who has used a wheelchair for 20 years due to multiple sclerosis. The chair uses a four-legged robot with wheels on its feet to step over obstacles and roll on flat surfaces.

Originally not meant to carry people, the robot was recalibrated to support his weight and keep balance. It is controlled like a large remote-controlled car, with simple commands and a programmed flip button.

The father can now climb hills, stairs, and cross a river-places traditional wheelchairs cannot reach. Though not perfect and prone to falls, it restored mobility to previously inaccessible terrain.

📊@tech

🤖 Claude Fable 5 access extended

Anthropic extended subscription access to Claude Fable 5 until July 12 with the same limits.

After that, Fable 5 switches to token-based payment via API.

📊@tech

😐 xAI Rebrands as SpaceXAI, Not SpaceX

On July 6, the AI company xAI changed its name and logo to SpaceXAI on its social media account. This update reflects the full integration of xAI into SpaceX, which happened earlier this year.

SpaceXAI now represents the AI division within SpaceX, focusing on AI products like the Grok chatbot and managing the social network X. The original SpaceX brand remains separate, dedicated to rockets and spacecraft.

The rebranding is currently visual only, with the old name still used on the website and official documents. This clarifies the confusion caused by the similar names but does not signal a full corporate rename.

📊@tech

📱 xAI launches no-code voice AI call center builder

xAI released Voice Agent Builder, a no-code tool to create AI call centers using over 80 voices or a real person's clone from a 2-minute recording. It integrates with Notion, Gmail, and Google Calendar to handle bookings, confirmations, and refunds via API.

The beta service charges 5 cents per minute and provides a phone number for each agent upon signup. xAI claims its Grok Voice Think Fast 1.0 model sounds more convincing than Google's Gemini 3.1 Flash Live and OpenAI's GPT Realtime 1.5.

📊@tech

⚡️ AI Discovers Two New Superconductors

A team at Aalto University used machine learning to identify two previously unknown superconductors, confirmed later in lab tests at Rice University. This marks a shift from decades of manual trial and error that found about 7,000 superconductors so far.

Superconductors conduct electricity without resistance or heat loss, enabling powerful magnets for MRI machines and maglev trains. The challenge remains their need for extreme cooling, limiting practical use.

The AI approach scans billions of material candidates, speeding up discovery. The goal is to find a superconductor that works at room temperature by 2033, which would revolutionize energy and computing.

📊@tech

🤖 12-Year-Old Launches AI Startup with Claude

Twelve-year-old entrepreneur Mana Jumpala created an AI assistant bot that helps small businesses build long-term customer relationships. The service, developed using Claude, passed initial testing successfully.

Mana plans to apply to Y Combinator and a16z accelerators within two years and aims to raise venture funding afterward. Despite online interest, her age creates a barrier in face-to-face pitches where she is often not taken seriously.

📊@tech

☕️ 2-3 Cups of Coffee Lower Depression Risk

Scientists tracked 460,000 people for about 13 years and found those drinking 2-3 cups of coffee daily had fewer cases of depression and anxiety.

People who drank 5 or more cups or none at all showed more mental health issues. Decaf coffee had no effect, suggesting caffeine dose matters.

📊@tech

🤖 Terminator 2 Returns in 4K and 3D

The 35-year-old film Terminator 2 will be re-released in theaters on August 28 after being converted to 4K and 3D by distributors.

Director James Cameron described the movie as a message of hope where the good guys defeat a superintelligent AI.

📊@tech

🌐 DuckDuckGo blocks YouTube video ads

The DuckDuckGo browser now blocks video ads, mainly on YouTube, when videos play inside the browser. This uses community filters from uBlock Origin plus DuckDuckGo's own rules for compatibility.

The ad blocker is enabled by default on iPhone, Windows, and Mac. On Android, it will turn on automatically soon but can be enabled manually in settings now. Users can also easily disable it anytime.

📊@tech

🫢 DDR4 Memory Prices Surge Over 50%

In Q3, prices for DDR4 8Gb DRAM modules will rise over 50%, says DigiTimes. Spot prices for DDR4 16Gb sometimes exceed DDR5 with similar specs due to strong demand and limited supply.

Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix mostly stopped DDR4 production, focusing on DDR5 and AI memory. Samsung makes DDR4 in small batches, Micron runs limited output in Virginia, while Nanya and Winbond supply most DDR4 but still fall short.

Corporate SSDs with DRAM boost demand. DDR3 prices also rose, with gigabit costs now above DDR5. In early July, DDR4 4Gb costs $12.75, DDR5 16Gb $47.07, and DDR3 gigabit $3.19 versus DDR5’s $2.94.

📊@tech

🤖 OpenAI Shuts Down Atlas Browser

OpenAI will disable its AI browser Atlas on August 9, less than a year after its October launch on macOS. All browser features will move into the updated ChatGPT desktop app, with users notified by email and in-app messages.

Atlas offered an Agent mode to automate tasks but remained niche, limited to Macs and paid subscribers. The new ChatGPT app combines ChatGPT, Codex, and ChatGPT Work with a built-in browser that can browse sites, compare sources, open Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 files, and continue tasks while showing results.

📊@tech

Ⓜ️ Meta’s Muse AI blends code and images

Meta’s Muse Image and Muse Video, under Meta Superintelligence lab, combine diffusion and large language models. Muse can write Python code, parse the web, generate fractal code, embed graphs, and create precise HTML layouts like menus.

Muse also self-corrects image flaws using a method like Test-Time-Scaling. It ranks second on image-to-image benchmarks, just ahead of Nano Banana 2 and Reve-2, though Reve-2.1 has since surpassed it. The video model ranks top 3, beating Alibaba’s happyhorse.

Muse sparked controversy by defaulting to generating Instagram user faces from @tags. Access is currently limited to US Instagram, with Europe’s rollout delayed indefinitely.

📊@tech

🚀 China catches Long March 10B rocket stage at sea

On July 10, China launched the Long March 10B rocket and successfully recovered its first stage by catching it on a sea platform net. The 70-meter rocket lifted off from Wenchang and the stage slowed down to land vertically on the platform.

The rocket is two-stage, medium-lift, powered by seven YF-100K engines running on kerosene and liquid oxygen. It can deliver up to 16 tons to low Earth orbit, mainly for cargo missions.

📊@tech

🍏 Apple debates hinge tech for foldable iPhone

Apple is still deciding how to build the hinge for its rumored foldable iPhone Ultra. Insider Fixed Focus Digital says the company is choosing between two methods to create a nearly invisible crease.

One option uses liquid metal, an amorphous alloy known as metallic glass, which offers flexibility, scratch resistance, and shape memory. The other is 3D printing, which is cheaper and easier to produce.

Apple’s choice depends on chip supply. Limited memory availability favors the liquid metal hinge for small batches. If memory supply improves, Apple may switch to 3D printing. The final decision is expected by the end of July.

📊@tech

🤖 OpenAI hired Apple engineers as spies

OpenAI recruited former Apple employees and asked them for secret Apple data. One ex-iPhone engineer was caught after refusing to return his work laptop, which he used to download confidential Apple files while at OpenAI.

He boasted to former colleagues about retained access and made guides on copying files undetected. This may have been led by Tang Tan, OpenAI's hardware chief and former lead iPhone developer who recruited Apple staff for design documents.

📊@tech